John Munson/The Star-LedgerThe entrance to the Holland Tunnel is shown in this file photo.

"That's crazy."

"It's bad."

"It is what it is."

Commuters heading into the Holland Tunnel after 9 a.m. today reacted with surprise, disappointment and resignation to a lesser-known aspect of the toll hike that took effect Sunday: Peak periods were extended by an hour.

This means if you were looking to take advantage of the $2 off-peak discount for E-ZPass users by crossing at 9:01 a.m., you’re out of luck. You now have to wait until after 10 a.m. And on the evening commute, peak hours have been extended from 4 to 8 p.m.

The weekend peak period price has also been expanded, an hour earlier and later, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"I didn’t know that. That’s crazy," said Lourdes Sanango, 22, a student commuter from Jersey City, who said the off-peak discount had paid for gasoline. "How could they do such a thing?"

A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Ron Marsico, declined to comment on the expansion of the hours.

But , Jeffrey M. Zupan, a senior fellow at the Regional Plan Association, a transportation planning group that works with the Port Authority, said the Port Authority likely expanded peak hours in order to "pick up a few extra bucks."

NEW BRIDGE TOLLS

• Cash customers: $12 during peak hours, $12 during off-peak hours

• E-ZPass users: $9.50 during peak hours, $7.50 during off-peak hours

• Tolls will rise in yearly increments until 2015, when peak crossings will cost $12.50 for E-ZPass payers and $15 for cash customers

NEW PATH FARES

• Fares rose Sunday from $1.75 to $2, and will rise to $2.75 by 2014

The change in hours would be consistent with the reason for the toll hike, to boost Port Authority revenues, which have fallen in recent years due to the lagging economy.

Today, the bistate agency released figures showing volume at its six bridges and tunnels was down 3.3 percent for the first eight months of 2011 compared to the same period last year, Zupan said. The number of January-August crossings fell to 79.6 million this year, from 82.3 million in 2010.

In addition to producing direct revenues for the Port Authority, bridge and tunnel volumes are typically viewed as barometers of the region’s overall economic health, particularly in terms of employment. Zupan said at least part of this year’s drop may be due to non-economic factors, including severe weather in January, February and August, when the drop in crossings was steepest.

But, he added, some of the decrease was undoubtedly linked to the sagging economy. A recession-related decline in Port Authority revenues in the face of pressing capital needs was the agency’s main justification for the toll hike. Gov. Chris Christie and his New York counterpart, Andrew Cuomo, approved the hike on the condition the agency submit to a wide-ranging audit, after the two men scrapped an earlier, much steeper proposal.

The new toll for E-ZPass users is now $9.50 during peak hours, and $12 for cash customers. The discounted off-peak toll for E-ZPass users is $7.50. There is no discount for cash-payers, who cost the agency more to process because they require toll takers. Tolls will rise in yearly increments until 2015, when peak crossings will cost $12.50 for E-ZPass payers and $15 for cash customers. PATH fares also went up Sunday, to $2 from $1.75, and will rise to $2.75 by 2014.

The Port Authority says the hike will help pay for a 10-year, $25 billion capital plan that includes redeveloping the World Trade Center, raising the Bayonne Bridge, replacing the Goethals, and overhauling the Pulaski Skyway, a plan projected to generate 131,000 jobs.

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerPeak hours were extended for both weekday and weekend travelers, making it more difficult for E-ZPass customers to receive the off-peak-hour discount.

Under the plan, revenues are to rise by $100 million in the first year and are projected to increase to $900 million by the 2015. Based on past experience, Zupan said the expanded peak hours aren’t likely to change commuting habits, and most people will simply forego the discount.

"The problem is, people have to go about their business and can’t change their schedules to save a buck," or two, Zupan said.

Sam Dom can’t. The 41-year-old clothing wholesaler from Staten Island, said there was no way he could schedule deliveries around the off-peak discount. He didn’t know how he would offset the $500 in lost discounts, not to mention the $350 added cost of the hike itself.

Talamini, 38, another Staten Islander, had a different perspective as he headed for Wall Street in a new Mercedes-Benz SUV. Talamini was not sure how much he saved using the Port Authority’s Staten Island Bridges Plan to get from home to New Jersey. Nor did he seem all that concerned about losing a $2 discount for crossing the tunnel into Manhattan between 9 and 10 a.m.